Most Old School RPG owned – #RPGaDAY 2014, Day 5

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So now we’re on Day 5 of #RPGaDay. It asks us what the most “Old School” RPG may be in your collection. In my collection, it would have to be my classic Dungeons & Dragons or Palladium Fantasy books. But in my defense, I see “Old School” as being nothing more than a way of describing my style of gaming. When I think OSR, it brings me back to the crazy random tables of the 1st edition Dungeon Master’s Guide which had a whole Appendix dedicated to figuring out which way hallways went, what was in rooms, and what treasure may tantalize your players into facing whatever doom you placed within…

Dungeon Master’s Guide

But it’s that spirit of randomness and the attitude that “anything can happen” that calls back to that earlier style of gaming. Less about being hemmed in by the rules and more about what your character can do to think outside the box.

When I run a game, my style is very open. Sandboxy, if that’s a term. The goal is to come up with some characters, a place for them to explore, and see what happens. I’m not much for modules, though I don’t mind them for gaming sometimes (especially with kids or my daughters)… But I get my kicks as a GM from trying to keep up with the players. Their creativity fuels my creativity, which fuels their creativity in one big loop…

So it’s less about the rules and more about playing the game itself. That’s my definition of Old School anyway. And in that way, I could see using just about any rules – from TOON and Vampire to GURPS or any system.

Obviously that’s just my interpretation of OSR. Like Cylons, there are many versions. 🙂 Interested in other folks’ ideas on OSR gaming? Check out OSRToday.com!